Weekly Snapshot: Doing Hard Things

There’s a special attraction to working on hard problems. Humans need inspirational goals that are hard to achieve and that push the limits of their potential. It reminds me of John F Kennedy’s speech that changed the fate of humanity. Here’s a snippet:

We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.

It was a beautiful call to action. It was an acceptance of a choice - so inherently powerful that it pushed our limits to achieve the unthinkable. Over the past few years, I have noticed myself failing to get excited by trivial challenges. If the purpose behind a challenge is not significant enough, I find myself fading away from it after a while. The force of attraction is just not strong enough.

But I have realized that as soon I find a worthy challenge, every fiber of my body pushes me to work towards it. The higher level of difficulty automatically pushes me towards commitment, and the more I work on the challenge, the more committed I become. It’s a beautiful connection.

As Humans, we need a purpose to live. We need a challenge to go after. Our lives must have meaning; otherwise, we cease to exist. First inside and then as a species. If you find yourself demotivated in life, aim higher for difficult feats. Automatically, you will get excited and ready to push your internal boundaries to the absolute limit.

Isn’t this what life is all about?

💪 Wins of the week

1. Great learnings in the field of battery storage; an exciting space with the potential to change how we power our equipments.
2. Gained more clarity on my future plans. Planning your future is a daunting task but a necessary one.
3. Gained momentum at work - close to the finish line. The last 10% is always the hardest.

🧐 Challenges & Learnings

1. Thinking about the future is no short of an anxiety attack. I’m learning how to better control my emotions and thoughts. Ideally, I should worry only about the things that are in my control, but I’ve found that it’s easier said than done. I will still keep at it and will keep improving.
2. Product quality matters! If you’re launching a new product that fulfils the need of your customer and offers exceptional value - you have a winner at hand. All you need to figure out is extensive distribution and you will be golden!

🎯 Goals for Next Week

1. Learn and understand procurement of energy storage systems by connecting with manufacturing companies.
2. Reach out to at least 3 leaders in tech (aka famous people) - at least someday, someone will reply back!
3. Complete the first iteration of promotions engine at work - need to start API integrations.

📖 My Readings

Blue Ocean Strategy is a beast of a book! The insights are timeless, and the way to think about building new products and capturing market share is extremely practical. I’m loving the book - highly recommended.

🎬 My YouTube Video

In this week’s video, I share how to break into product management.

It focuses on the skills required to be successful at the job and is targeted towards people with no prior experience in product. However, if you’re an existing product manager, it’s a refesher on skills that you must posses to be a master of your domain. Happy Watching!

✍️ Quote of the Week

Think like a farmer
* Don’t shout at the crops
* Don’t blame the crop for not growing fast enough
* Don’t uproot crops before they’ve had a chance to grow
* Choose the best plans for the soil
* Irrigate and fertilise
* Remove weeds
* Remember you will have good seasons and bad seasons - you can’t control the weather - only prepare for it.

— Taken from a LinkedIn post.